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A program badge for Niobrara Camp

Join a small group of new friends for a wet and wild adventure on the beautiful Niobrara River near Valentine. Challenge yourself by tent camping, cooking over an open fire, and learning outdoor leadership skills. Highlights include a visit to beautiful Smith Falls. This trip is for the adventuresome teen!

Niobrara Canoe Camp Highlights

Canoe the Niobrara River

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Explore a beautiful and unique part of the state, the Niobrara River near Valentine, NE.

Plan your Meals

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Work with your group to plan and execute a menu of meals to cook out on your trip.

Small Group Experience

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Create close bonds with a small group of co-ed peers and role models (9 campers and 2 staff).

Niobrara Canoe Camp Details

Goals

Niobrara Campers will:

  • improve self-esteem, teamwork, and group living skills in a co-recreational environment.
  • learn and continue to develop outdoor skills.
  • refine and become stewards of the natural world through Leave No Trace practices.
  • aid in the execution of their trip experience by identifying and addressing needs.
Schedule

Niobrara campers spend the first two and a half days learning canoeing techniques and tent camping guidelines, planning out meals, packing gear, and conditioning for the trip. On Tuesday, the group will load into a 15-passenger van and road trip to Valentine, Nebraska, where the river adventure begins. Two days will be spent on the river, camping, and cooking over an open fire. Campers return to Kitaki with enough time to unload their gear before Friday's dinner and campfire.

Check in will be midafternoon on the first day of the program, and check out will be mid-morning on the last day. More details on check in will be emailed with the Parent Guide towards the beginning of May.

Lodging

Niobrara Campers spend their time at Kitaki is a rustic cabin called Base Camp (with different sleeping spaces for boys and girls). Base Camp is a screened in cabin and does not have air conditioning. During the canoe trip, campers sleep in single-gender tents.